Automobile bumper



Dec. 18, 1934. F, A. BOND AUTOMOBILE BUMPER Filed April 22, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet l I. O 0 w J lljrifi L if. R E W LL -:L a FL???-lTiiiEm m NN\ f 1 I CJ N E Q. m

Q MN 3 3 T Dw g a Q & Mm E Q /h wk MM Dec. 18, 1934. F. A, BOND AUTOMOBILE BUMPER Filed April 22, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Dec. 18, 1934. F. A. BOND 1,984,392

AUTOMOB ILE BUMPER Filed April 22, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 mam Patented Dec. 18, 1934 UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE AUTOMOBILE BUMBER;

- FranlcA-Bend,Pittshurgh-,Paaassignon-bymesner assignments, to; The McKay Company, Pittsburgh, Pa,v a corporatiomof Pennsylvania,

Application April 22,, 1931*, Serial No. 532,018

nent. parts thereof are securely heldagainst displacementv relative to, one another, with a minimum number of fastening devices.

A further object. of my invention is to provide a bumper structure whose parts can be. more easily and quickly assembled than bumper structures. of various other types.

Still another object of my invention is tov provide a. bumper structure of generally simplified and improved form.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is. a plan view of a. bumper structure embodyingmy invention; Fig. 2; is a front elevational view thereof; 3; is a plan viewof some ofv the parts of Fig. 1;. Fig-4 is aview taken on the line IV- IV. of Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale; Fig. 5 is a. view similar to Fig; 4. but showing the parts. in. only partially assembled condition; F g 6. is, a plan view of, a modified form. of bumper structure; Fig. 7 is; a front elevational view thereof; Fig- 8 is a horizontal sectional view,. on an enlarged scale, through one end of the structure of:- Fig. 6 Fig. 9 is a rear elevational sectional view of said end.

Fig. 10 isa plan view showing, another modifica tion; Fig. 11 is a front view thereof; Fig. 12 isya View, on an. enlarged. scale, of an endportiori: of the structure of Fig. 1 1, with the. parts in partially assembled position Fig. 1-3 showsthe parts ofFig. 12. in. completely assembledrelation; Fig 14shows a further modification; Fig. 15 shows.a;plan. view of another modification; Fig... 16 is a. view taken on the line XVI-XVI of Fig. 15;,.Fig.. 1,'l,is..a sectional plan view of the structure of Fig. 16; Figs. 18 and 19 are. views corresponding to. Figs, 16 and 17, but showing still another modification, and Fig. 20 shows a further modification.

Referringfirst to Figs.,1 to 4, the bumper structure is shown as mounted upon the forwardiends of vehicle side frames 15; the back bars or. bracket arms 16, of the bumper. structure being secured against the ends of the frame members 15 by means of clamping plates and screws 18'.

The front or, impact receiving bar is designated by then-umeral. 19 and, may be either flat or of convexform on its. forward side. The inturned extremities ot the. bar 19 are'cut out, as indicatedmore clearly at. 21v in. Fig. 5,]for the reception of'tongues 22 that, arev formed onfthe outer ends. of the. back bars lfi.

In. assembling, the bars. lfinand 19,. the back bars. 16 are tilted-at. an. angle with respect to the impactbar 19,. topermit. insertion of the tongue 22- through. the openingv or perforation 21, somewhat after the manner shown in Fig- 5,. The back. bar may then be turned. to the position shown. in Fig. 3 and. slid longitudinally of the opening 21. to-bringthe tongue to. the position shown in Fig... 4,. in. which position the tongue 22 will lie againstfthe inner face of the turned-in ends of theimpactbar 19,,whilethebody portion of the. back bar-willbe. disposed against the rear face of, said; extension.

- The slot 21 istapered so. that. when the tongue 22 is. slid. to the position shown. in Figs. 3v and 4, theconnecting'. web. or. neck 23., which is formed integrally with the bar 16- and the tongue. 22 and connects them together, abuts. against theupper and lower wallsot theslot 21, to thereby prevent rattling, through loosenessof the parts. Furtherf more, the. portions. 22. and. 23. of the. back bar 16 are. sobent that the opposite. or inner endof the. bar will. besprung away from the impact bar 19, as. shown in Fig. 3. Therefore. when the looped. end. of the. bar 16. is clamped against the rear. side-0f the impaxzt. bar 19 as by a bolt 24-, the bars. 16. and 19 will. be maintained under tension with. respect. to one another;

I Lost motion-connection in one direction is pro.- videdbetweerr the ends-of.- the impact bar 19 and the-back bar 16.-,.by. reason ofv the. slots 21. Thus, if thrusts are: imposed. endwise against the impactbar,.such ends may thereby be sprung toward the vehicle frame. independently of the tongues 22, thus: reducing therigidity of the impeet-structure at its: enids,withoutv lessening its resisting capacity: under greater 7 stresses, which will be. transmittedito: then end's of the bars 16. The ends of the impact. bar will, of' course, return to their normal positions when the pressure thereon is removed.

So long as the bolts'24 remain in place there canbane-disengagement of' the bars 19. from. the

time and labor is involved in assembling the structure.

Referring now to Figs. 6 to 9, I show a structure wherein the impact-receiving bar 26 has its ends bent to form eyes 27 as shown more clearly in Fig. 8. The eyes 2'7 have slots 28 cut therein to permit the insertion of the outer ends of the back bars 29, which ends are curved somewhat. After the ends of the back bars 29 have been inserted in the eyes 2'7, it will be seen that by reason of the curvature of the ends of the bars 29 they cannot be withdrawn from the eyes 27 when the parts are fully assembled. The bolts 31 are employed mainly to produce a finished or ornamental appearance.

Furthermore, the bolts 31 will largely be relieved of bending strains or thrusts because when thrusts are imparted to the impact structure in one direction, they will be transmitted directly from the bar 26 to the bar 29 through the contacting surfaces thereof at 32, while in the opposite direction the thrust will be transmitted from one bar to the other at the point 33. The back bars 29 are held against vertical displacement by the upper and lower walls of the slots 28.

The parts are so shaped that the back bars 29 tend to lie in spaced relation to the impact bar 26, as shown at the left hand side of Fig. 6. Therefore, when the looped end of the bars 29 are connected to the impact bar 26 as by bolts 34, the parts are placed under tension and the impact bars 29 held snugly in contact with the eyes 27 at the points 32 and 33.

Referring now to Figs. 10 to 13, I show a-structure having an impact-receiving bar 36 and a single back bar 37. The inturned ends of the impact bar 36 are provided with elongated slots 38 similar to the slots 21 of Fig. 5, but each having its lower wall recessed at 39. The ends of the back bar 27 are of different form than the back bars 16. The tongues 41 formed on the ends of the back bar have extensions 42 on the upper edges thereof and narrower extensions 43 on the other lower edges.

The bars are assembled by tilting the back bar slightly to permit insertion of the tongue extensions 42 through the slots 38, whereupon the bar 37 is tilted in the opposite direction and the ends of the impact bar 36 are sprung inward to permit movement of the tongues 43 through the slot openings 39, so that both the extensions 42 and 43 will lie at the inner side of the back-turned ends of the impact bar 36, as shown in Fig. 10. Release of the ends of the bar 36 will thereupon permit the tongue 41 to move from the position shown in Fig. 12, to that shown in Fig. 13, so that the parts cannot be disconnected until the ends of the bar 36 are sprung toward one another and the bars 36 and 37 simultaneously tilte relative to one another.

The mid portions of the bars 37 and 36 are shown as connected by a bolt 44. This connection not only serves to maintain the impact structure under tension but will prevent such relative tilting thereof as will permit movement of the tongue extension 43 through the opening 39, should an end of the bar 36 be sprung inward under impact.

That is to say, if an impact be imposed against the bar 36 in an endwise direction, the tongue extensions 42 and 43 will simply slide along the inner surface of the impact bar 36 without the bars 36 and 3'7 being tilted in such manner that the tongue extension 43 will be pushed through the slot 39. Of course, when the bolt 44 is removed, the parts can be disassembled by springing in the ends of the impact bar and simultaneously tilting it.

Referring to Fig. 14, I show a structure which may constitute a modification of either Figs. 1 or 6. In this arrangement, the bar 190. corresponds to either the bar 19 or the bar 26, while the back bars 16a. may correspond to either the back bars 16 or 29. In this structure, the inner ends of the bars 16a, instead of being bent to semi-circular or loop form, extend to the central portion of the front bar and are secured thereto by a bolt 24a, thereby serving to yieldably brace the mid portion of the impact bar 19a. The ends of the bars 16a. and 19a. may be connected together as shown either in Fig. 1 or Fig. 6.

Figs. and 16 show a structure wherein the slots in the ends of the impact bar 191) are much smaller than are the slots 21. The tongues 221) are narrow relative to the tongues 22 and can be readily slid into the slots, but they are of such length that when the back bars 16b are bolted at their inner ends to the impact bar, the tongues cannot become displaced from the slots.

Figs. 18 and 19 show a structure wherein the impact bar 190 and the back bars 160 are formed similarly to the bars 16 and 19 of Fig. 1, but in this modification, the tongues have a lip 44 struck therefrom in position to abut against the inner end wall of the slot when the parts are in assembled position, to rigidly hold the ends of the bars 160 and 190 against relative sliding movement through thrusts imposed endwise against the impact bar 190.

Fig. shows a structure somewhat similar to that of Figs. 12 and 13, the impact receiving bar 46 having a T-shaped slot 4'1 through which a T-shaped tongue 48 of a back bar 49 may be inserted when the ends of the impact bar are sprung inwardly as in Fig. 12. When the bar ends are released, they will move to the position shown in Fig. 20 with the tongue 48 lying behind the front bar 46 and the body portion of the back bar 49 lying against the outer side of the impact bar. If the back bar 49 instead of being made in a single piece as in Fig. 10 be made in two parts as in Fig. 1, it will not be necessary to spring the ends of the impact bar inwardly in order topermit assembly of the bars since the tongue 48 can be simply passed through the T slot 47 and slid to the position shown in Fig. 20, and thereupon the inner end of the back bar bolted to the front bar as at 24 in Fig. 1. The back bar 49 need not be twisted or tilted as does the bar 27 in assembling the parts since both ends of the tongue 48 can be simultaneously passed through the slot 47.

Various changes in detail and general arrangement may be made in the structure as described, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims. For example, the front bar could be provided with tongues, and the perforations formed in the outer end of the back bar.

I claim as my invention:-

1. Bumper structure comprising front and back bars, one of said bars having a perforation extending in a direction approximately parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bar and having a vertically-extending recess in one of its longitudinal walls, a tongue-like projection at one end of the other bar provided with vertical extensions on its upper and lower edges, one of said extensions being of smaller dimension than the said recess, and the other extension being insertible through the perforation, the tongue being of smaller width than said perforation, and means for holding the said bars in assembled relation When said tongue lies Within the perforation and the said extensions are disposed behind the firstnamed bar.

2. Bumper structure comprising front and back bars, one of said bars having a perforation extending in a direction approximately parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bar and having a vertically-extending recess in one of its longitudinal walls, a tongue-like projection at one end of the other bar provided with vertical extensions on its upper and Iower edges, one of said extensions being of smaller dimension than the said recess, and the other extension being insertible through the perforation, the tongue being of smaller width than said perforation, and

in spaced relation to the end walls of the said 10 perforation.

' FRANK A. BOND. 

